India has a no first use policy. So any nation that is not a
nuclear weapon state is safe from an Indian nuclear attack. And
nuclear weapons are against nuclear nations.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20071213/main5.htm
Major cities of the country, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata,
Chennai and other high value targets will get the anti-ballistic
missile defence shield, once the ballistic defence system (BMD) is
fully operational within the next three to four years, missile and
strategic system chief of the Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) Dr V.K. Saraswat said here today.
Encouraged by the two successful tests of the BMD system with the
indigenously developed interceptor missile hitting a target
missile last week in Orissa, Saraswat said his scientists needed
to conduct some more flight trials to fully validate the
objectives.
This process, he said, would be over in the next three years or so
following which he was hopeful of providing the protective shield
to high value targets and metropolitan cities. This, he said, could
happen over the next three to four years.
The successful testing of the BMD has put India into the elite club
of countries having the capabilities of such a system. The DRDO
missile chief said India could now also shoot down missile fired
from ranges varying from 400-3,000 km.
He, however, clarified that the BMD system was a defensive system
and given Indias nuclear doctrine specifying no first use of
nuclear weapons, the BMD was needed more as a deterrent.
Although he did not name Pakistan and China, but said the countries
in the neighbourhood had missiles of ranges from 400-3,000 km in
their arsenal and the Indian BMD was capable of eliminating them
endo-atmospheric (within the earths atmosphere) as well as
exo-atmospheric (outside atmosphere).
While the interceptor now named Praduyama can liquidate the
target at altitudes of 50km and beyond in exo mode, the BMD can
also hit the target at heights of less than 20 km in endo mode as
was done earlier this month from Integrated Test Range (ITR) at
Chandipur-on-Sea in Orissa. The DRDO scientists would now focus on
conducting simultaneous tests of endo and exo by launching
multiple interceptors on an incoming target, Saraswat said.
As regards the high points of the two tests of the BMD, he said the
country now had the capabilities of shooting down a cruise missile
traveling at very low heights. Incidentally, the cruise missile is
a sub-sonic system while the ballistic missiles travel 2,000 metres
in one second and the BMD system can it shoot down in 23 seconds
after detecting it with the help of a network of sophisticated
radars, Saraswat said.
The BMD system, at present can cover an area of 200 sq km and is
comparable of such systems like the Patriot missile system from the
US and the Arrow missile system from Israel. Thus, for Delhi and
the NCR (National Capital Region), we would require two batteries,
he said adding the interceptor can also perform many other
roles.
These roles included taking on an incoming hostile aircraft at
distance of more than 100 km and bolstering the air defence cover
of the country with the help of a reliable network of radars, he
said.
Incidentally, the US is interested in offering the Patriot missile
system to India.
